Yesterday's medical advice from Leeds manager David O'Leary may have been the genuine concern of a close friend or a calculated attempt to destabilise Liverpool hours before their high noon showdown, depending on your degree of cynicism.

But the one certainty to eminate from Elland Road yesterday was that, far from contemplating retiring from the game as O'Leary suggested he should, Houllier will now be more eager than ever to return to the job he loves.

The day after Liverpool last met Leeds the inspirational manager was fighting for his life at Broadgreen Hospital. Today, somewhere, he can relax in the immense satisfaction his men are within two points of the Premiership summit.

A phenomenal achievement by all concerned.

Liverpool's sensational dismantling of Leeds confirmed the fact their Premiership hopes remain intact and that the Yorkshire club's aspirations are all but redundant.

And, in consigning their mid-winter blip to the past, the Reds proved precisely why O'Leary's claim Houllier should enjoy his life outside the game misses the point completely.

The Frenchman's mission from day one at Anfield has been to lead Liverpool to the forefront of the title race. Doctors' orders permitting, that is precisely what he will do thanks to the incredible accomplishments of the team he left behind when taken ill four months ago.

On that dark October day football was the least of Liverpool's concern. Even so, few would have envisaged they would still be within touching distance of the title by the time Houllier returned to full health.

It speaks volumes of the squad Houllier has built, and the work carried out by Phil Thompson and co, that Liverpool have emerged from their inevitable reaction to their manager's loss with yet another major away scalp to their name.

And on yesterday's evidence the worst may well be behind them all, as Emile Heskey's two-goal burst in three minutes typified.

The passion and commitment on show was exactly what you would expect from these two title-chasing rivals. The first half football, on the other hand, was not.

Steven Gerrard served notice of the immense presence to follow when he clattered into Olivier Dacourt in the opening seconds and was on the receiving end of some Leeds retribution from Harry Kewell five minutes later.

Referee Graham Poll kept his cards sensibly close to his chest on both occasions to set the tone for a controlled display by the match official despite plenty of provocation, with Michael Owen in particular singled out for special Leeds' treatment.

Early pointers to the game's proceedings were not confined to rushes of blood, however. Liverpool began with an urgency and purpose that suggested O'Leary's latest outburst - plus the priceless comic claim that "the fates are conspiring against us" in his programme notes - had inspired the wrong effect.

Apart from one prolonged spell before the interval when the Reds were guilty of sitting too deep and inviting pressure, the visitors were assured. By contrast their hosts never convinced they possessed the edge to revive their fading championship bid.

Leeds, it seems, will be making headlines only because of their manager's constant pearls of wisdom rather than winning crucial football matches.

Surely of more concern to O'Leary should be his team's run of five games without a win and their failure to seriously trouble Jerzy Dudek until they were three goals down.

The pre-match talk was naturally all about Robbie Fowler's reunion with the Reds but, despite delivering the only bright Leeds' display of the day, he was ultimately overshadowed by his old club's ferocious work ethic and the strike partnership that edged him towards the Anfield exit.

Heskey and Owen encapsulated Liverpool's desire for victory yesterday, harrying and closing down the Leeds United defence from the first minute to the 92nd.

Their close attentions clearly rattled the Yorkshire rearguard into giving an inept display and, in O'Leary's words, gifting Liverpool three of their four goals.

Certainly you couldn't argue with that view for the opener on 16 minutes when Rio Ferdinand immaculately volleyed Danny Murphy's vicious free-kick under the startled Nigel Martyn.

It was the lead Liverpool deserved but instead of driving on they backed off to frustrate Leeds at the opposite end of the pitch where Jamie Carragher's perfect reading of the game constantly thwarted the home attack.

Owen missed a decent chance to double the visiting lead seconds before halftime but any fears that would prove costly were banished by a dominant second-half showing that threatened goals with every move.

Gerrard had enjoyed a quality battle with Dacourt and when the ex-Evertonian hobbled off injured in the 57th minute the England star took full advantage of the extra space his replacement Jason Wilcox offered three minutes later.

After killer balls at Highbury and Old Trafford, the midfielder completed the hat-trick with an immaculate pass through the Leeds defence for Heskey to get the benefit of a close offside call.

Bouyed with the confidence of his match-winner against Leicester the big striker rounded Martyn and produced a powerful, polished finish just when it seemed the angle had become too acute.

Three minutes later Heskey capped a perfect week by rediscovering the predators' instinct to make the game safe. The impressive Stephen Wright flicked John Arne Riise's corner, Owen's header was blocked on the line by Dominic Matteo and Heskey hooked home an unstoppable shot.

Only then did Leeds offer any threat. Dudek pulled off a fine save from Mark Viduka's twisting header and then combined with Riise to deny Fowler his reward on the goalline a minute after the former Kop idol had a penalty appeal waved away.

There was no disguisng where the travelling fans loyalties lay, however, and Owen answered their chants with the goal his performance merited to round a superb Liverpool afternoon off in the final minute.

Once again the set-piece was Leeds' undoing, as Heskey flicked Riise's long throw onto his strike partner. Martyn tipped his first header onto the bar but was powerless to prevent Owen converting the rebound and igniting more rapturous celebrations behind the battered Leeds' goal.

No doubt Houllier was doing likewise in front of a TV screen, desperate to be part of such days once again. It won't be the Liverpool manager looking for a break from football after this.